Contracts and projects around Australia

VICTORIA Murray Basin Rail Project

The next stage of works is set to begin, with a contractor appointed to deliver track upgrades to the Ararat to Maryborough Line.

The Alliance of ACCIONA, Coleman Rail and SMEC, supported by Rail Projects Victoria and V/line, has been awarded the contract for this stage of upgrades to the Murray Basin freight network, which also includes Merbein and Donald siding works.

The same Alliance is delivering the early works on the Ouyen to Murrayville Line, with over 57,000 sleepers replaced and 30,000 tonnes of ballast installed along the 109-kilometre freight corridor.

More than 130 workers have been involved in the upgrades to the Ouyen to Murrayville Line, with an estimated $200,000 per month invested by the project in the region on accommodation, food and hospitality.

Work on the Ouyen to Murrayville Line upgrade is expected to be completed by mid-2022 and will remove most of the speed and heat restrictions which have limited use of the line.

A modern signalling system will also be installed by V/Line at Ararat Junction to improve safety, efficiency and reduce transit times through the junction, with works now underway.

Design work and procurement is also underway on further upgrades, including new crossing loops and sidings, improvements to Maryborough and Dunolly junctions and signalling upgrades.

Works will enable 49 train paths on the Murray Basin network, up from the current 28 paths, and will remove an estimated 20,000 truck trips from the road.

Suburban Rail Loop

Expressions of Interest have opened for the longest tunnelling package in Victoria’s history – delivering around 16 kilometres of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley. A second package will see the tunnels constructed from Glen Waverley to Box Hill, completing the SRL East rail corridor.

In another first, up to 10 tunnel boring machines (TBMs) could be used for SRL East – each custom built to suit the local ground conditions. Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel used four TBMs, while eight were used for the dual 21km tunnels for London’s CrossRail project.

The high number of TBMs will speed up the tunnelling process, with launching sites planned at Monash, Heatherton, and Burwood.

Tunnelling is expected to start in 2026, with the world’s leading companies already expressing strong interest in being part of this transformational project.

This package of works will also include safety cross passages between the tunnels, station boxes at Clayton and Monash, and tunnel entrances and exits at the stabling facility. Cross passages will be excavated via the constructed tunnels using small or remotecontrolled excavators.

With 26 kilometres of twin tunnels for SRL East, the shortest TBM drive will be the 2.6 kilometres between Monash and Clayton, and the longest section a whopping 6 kilometres between Burwood and Glen Waverley. The longest TBM drive for the Metro Tunnel project was 1.8 kilometres.

Craigieburn-Seymour Line

A new modern signalling system will be installed to control trains between the outer Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn and Seymour in the Goulbourn Valley.

The $9.4 million project will support the local economy with a number of contractors involved in its delivery. UGL, Siemens and Integrated Rail Engineering Services are designing the signalling system which includes connections into the metropolitan system and existing V/Line signalling. All Systems Contractors will complete the construction while signalling installation works will be undertaken by V/Line signalling engineers.

Train signalling systems are required on all rail tracks to inform drivers when it is safe to proceed into the next section of track.

The new signalling will control trains between the end of the metropolitan system, north of Craigieburn and Dysart, where the existing automated signalling system for Seymour Station commences.

Works will include installation of new axle counters, track circuits, LED signals and a train control system to detect the location of trains and advise drivers accordingly, producing an automated system which provides fail-safe train detection.

The manual double line block signalling will be replaced with the automated system, removing the aerial power and telegraph wires.

NSW Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport project

A $538.5 million contract for the project has been awarded to a joint venture between CPB Contractors and Western Sydney group, United Infrastructure.

The contract for Surface and Civil Alignment Works is a jobs boost for the area with more than 20 percent of the workforce for this project coming from Western Sydney.

As work on this contract ramps up over the coming months, 50 new jobs, including apprentices and trainees, will be created to support United Infrastructure in the construction of the new metro rail line.

The project will also source a minimum of 50 percent Australian steel, including reinforcement on all three of the project’s major contract packages.

This contract includes construction of: • 3.5 kilometres of elevated viaduct at Orchard

Hills and Luddenham • 6.7 kilometres of earthworks for track formation • 190 metre long rail bridge over the new M12 motorway • 20 metre long rail bridge within the airport • Construction of temporary and permanent access roads • Bulk earthworks for the stabling and maintenance facility site

United Infrastructure is made up of three Western Sydney companies - Mulgoa Quarries, Burton Contractors and JK Williams.

This is the second major contract to be awarded for the delivery of this critical rail project, which will provide a significant boost for the region supporting 14,000 new jobs, including 250 apprenticeships during construction.

The driverless 23-kilometre metro line will link St Marys to the centre of the new Aerotropolis at Bradfield via the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. Six stations will also be built along the alignment.

The Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport project is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments. The third and final major contract package to be procured for the project is expected to be awarded at the end of this year.